Dumplings are a versatile dish with different origins from all over the world. Dumplings from South America are generally served as part of a thick chicken soup dish. Asian dumplings, originating in China, are thin-skinned bags made of flour that can be filled with a variety of meats and vegetables. All kinds of dumplings are made of flour and water (or milk) and tend to be easy to make.
Ingredients
South American Dumplings
- 8 cups (1900 ml) liquid ingredients: water, chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 2 cups (470 ml) Flour
- 2 tsp (9.9 ml) Baking powder
- 3 tsp (3.7 ml) Salt
- Cold milk or ice water
- Seasonings for taste: salt, pepper, oregano and thyme
Asian Dumplings
- 2 cups (470 ml) Flour
- 1 cup (240 ml) Hot Water
- Salt as seasoning
Step
Method 1 of 3: Making South American Dumplings
Step 1. Prepare the materials
The amount of ice water or cold milk you need will depend on the thickness of the dough, but is usually between 3/4 cup (180 ml) and 1 cup (240 ml). Some recipes recommend using low protein flour, but you can also use other flours.
Step 2. Mix all dry ingredients
Mix flour, baking powder and salt. You can also add other spices to taste.
Step 3. Heat the liquid ingredients
Bring the water or chicken/vegetable stock to almost a boil over medium-high heat in a wide soup pot or Dutch oven. Reduce the heat from the stove to medium heat once the water or stock is almost boiling.
- The liquid ingredients will start to form small bubbles on the bottom of the pan. When these tiny bubbles start to float to the surface, it means the liquid is almost boiling and the heat must be reduced.
- If you're making chicken and dumplings, it's better to prepare the chicken soup and then add the dumplings to it, rather than cooking the liquid ingredients for the two separately.
Step 4. Mix cold milk or ice water into the flour mixture
Slowly add the cold liquid ingredients to the flour, stirring gently. The dough will be wet but still soft. If the dough is too runny, it means you added too much liquid and you need to mix in a little more flour.
Do not over-knead the dough. This can cause your dumplings to deflate
Step 5. Put the dumpling mixture into the preheated liquid
Take a spoonful of the dumpling mixture and drop it into the almost boiling water or broth. Make sure to add all the dough while it's still cold.
Step 6. Cook over medium-high heat until the dumplings harden
Continue to cook the dumplings for about 15-20 minutes, or until the dumplings are firm and firm in the center.
- Cover the pot during the cooking process to ensure the dumplings cook evenly. You may need to reduce the temperature a bit..
- When you think the dumpling is done, you can try removing the largest dumpling from the water/broth and cutting it to make sure the whole dumpling is cooked through.
Step 7. Remove the dumplings from the stove and serve
Generally, the dumplings are served with the broth used for pre-boiling, so you don't have to remove the dumplings from the broth. Simply remove the pan from the stove and prepare to serve.
- Spoon dumplings and broth into a bowl.
- Store leftover dumplings in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and reheat on the stove.
Method 2 of 3: Making Asian Dumplings
Step 1. Gather the ingredients
You may want to get a special refined flour dumpling from the Asian market, but that's not necessary. You can also try using low protein flour, which tends to be a bit finer than regular flour.
Some recipes call for nearly boiling water, some call for warm water, and some don't specify the required water temperature. Try different methods and see which one works best for you
Step 2. Mix flour, water and salt
Dumpling dough is traditionally mixed by hand, and is often not measured correctly. If you want to measure the size, it's usually a 2:1 ratio of flour to water, but you can always add flour if the dough looks sticky or add water if the dough looks too dry.
- Put the flour into the water in a medium-sized bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until the dough starts to stick.
- Remove the dough from the bowl and knead by hand on a clean surface. (Be careful if you use boiling water to form the dough.)
- Continue kneading until the dough becomes soft.
Step 3. Let the dough rest
After you knead the dough until it forms a soft ball, let the dough rest for 10 minutes. This will help shape the texture and consistency of your dumpling dough.
Step 4. Divide the dough into 2-4 parts
Start with one section and cover the other with plastic to keep it moist. This gives you enough time to shape each dumpling without leaving the dough drying out.
You can skip this stage when you can make the dumplings quickly or if you get help filling the dumplings
Step 5. Roll the dough lengthwise
Using one portion of the dough, roll the dough into a string by placing both hands on it and rolling it forward and away from you while slowly extending the dough from the center. The dough rope should have a diameter of no more than 2.5 cm.
Step 6. Divide each rope dough into segments
The segment must be less than 2.5 cm long. The consistency of the size of the dough segments will determine the consistency of the size of your dumplings.
Step 7. Flatten each segment into a circle
Use your hands to flatten each ball of dough into even pieces. Then use a dough roller that has been dusted with flour to roll out each dumpling skin very thinly.
The ideal method of rolling dumpling skins is to leave the center of the dumpling a little thicker and make the edges very thin. You can do this by applying more pressure to the dough roller when it reaches the edges of the dumpling skin
Step 8. Repeat the process with the remaining dough
Repeat this process until all the dough has been made into dumpling skins. If you're accompanied by a maid, instruct her to start filling and covering the dumplings while you make the crust.
Method 3 of 3: Filling and Cooking Asian Dumplings
Step 1. Make or buy some dumpling skins
You can make your own dumpling skins (see the process above) or you can buy dumpling skins at the market or grocery store.
Step 2. Choose a fill
Dumplings can be filled with a wide selection of ingredients. You can make vegetarian dumplings or fill them with ground beef or seafood, according to your taste. Generally, dumplings are traditionally stuffed using a combination of ground beef and finely chopped vegetables. Here are some filling ideas:
- Minced pork, minced shrimp and chopped cabbage
- Chopped cabbage and grated carrots
- Chopped prawns, chopped cabbage and cilantro.
- Mashed potatoes and mushrooms
- Berries and sugar (for sweet dumplings)
Step 3. Fill the dumplings with the desired filling
Spoon some of the filling into the center of the dumpling. Make sure you have enough to fill the dumplings, but not so much that the dumplings can be covered easily. You may need less filling than you think you need.
Step 4. Cover the dumpling skin
Fold the edges of the dumpling toward each other and pinch the two halves together. Make sure there is no excess flour or meat sticking to the edges of the dough. Pinch the dough firmly across the top, then fold the pinched portion toward you to make a crescent-shaped dumpling.
Step 5. Keep the dumplings raw
If you're not going to eat all the dumplings at once, it's best to store them raw, after you've molded and filled them. Place the dumplings on a baking sheet in the freezer until frozen, then transfer to a large frozen bag or other airtight container. There's no need to defrost the dumplings when you're ready to cook them later.
Step 6. Preheat the pan
Cook the dumplings in a large nonstick pot with a lid. Pour the oil into a saucepan and heat it over medium-high heat.
Step 7. Position the dumplings in the pan
Dumplings may come into contact with each other as they cook. Once all the dumplings are in the pot, add water to the pan until the bottom of the dumplings is submerged in water.
Step 8. Fry the dumplings in the pan
Cover the dumpling pot and cook over medium-high (or high) heat for 20 minutes. Check to make sure there is still water around the dumplings, and add more water if the pan starts to dry out.
- Check the bottom of the dumpling to make sure it doesn't burn.
- Adjust the stove temperature as needed.
- When the dough on the top of the dumpling looks cooked, remove the lid and allow the water to cook.
- Let the bottom of the dumpling sizzle for some time to add crunch to your dumpling, but don't let it burn.
- If you think the dumplings are done, remove the largest dumpling and cut into pieces. Check the temperature of the filling with a meat thermometer to make sure the meat is fully cooked.
Step 9. Boil the dumplings
Alternatively, you can put the dumplings in a large pot of boiling water. This will slightly change the texture of the dumpling skin. You can try cooking in other ways and see which one suits you better.
Step 10. Serve the dumplings while warm
If you let the bottom of the dumpling get crunchy, serve it with the crunchy side up. Also serve with dipping sauce or soy sauce.
